N/A NESTOS

The N/A Nestos (M-211) was a 42-meter, 325-ton naval minesweeper of the Royal Hellenic Navy. Originally built in 1925–1926 at Cook, Welton & Gemmell Ltd (Selby, England) as the commercial fishing trawler Lord Bradbury (Mersey class), the vessel was purchased by the Greek government in 1938 and converted into a naval minesweeper armed with a 37mm cannon, machine gun, and 40 naval mines. On April 23, 1941, during the German invasion of Greece, the ship was caught in the Gulf of Corinth and attacked by Luftwaffe bombers. To prevent the burning ship from sinking into deep water and to safeguard his crew, the commanding officer deliberately ran the vessel aground onto the shallows off Psathopyrgos (Achaia), ensuring all surviving crew members reached land safely. For years, the upper superstructure remained visible above water until the 1950s, when a failed commercial salvage attempt caused the hull to slide down the steep submarine slope. Today, the Nestos sits upright on a silty incline from 24 meters at the stern to 48 meters at the bow, with intact steam boilers, helm gear, and bridge machinery.